I guess it was imminent...Ry got red at school today.
Talking too much and not following directions...when she told him he was getting a warning for that, he laughed at her and then got red. Lovely. Thanks son.
I'm a tough lady, I run a tight ship...hoping to avoid days like today. When I am mad, frustrated, stressed, etc. I yell and ramble and talk in circles to make a firm point. I'm not proud of it...but I do it. During times like this, I find myself talking to Ryland in words/phrases that he doesn't understand. I don't know why I do...maybe I like to hear myself talk, maybe it makes me feel better...but he probably gets about 10% of what I'm putting down. Tonight while telling Ryland how unhappy I was and why, I explained the meaning of respect and how important is was to me and Dust. "Ry...I don't care what you want to do with your life. I don't care what job you get. I don't care about any of that...what I care about is that when you leave this house you respect people. Period. If you forget to respect people then I will get the word RESPECT tattooed on your hand so that you will always see it. I'm serious. Does that make sense?" Ryland - "No." Me - "It's no, ma'am...this is exactly what I am talking about. Do you understand?" "Yes, Mama."
Does he understand? No...but he sure does know when I've finished my rant and say "Do you understand?" that the correct answer is always yes.
PS - As I'm having my little outburst, Dustin is in the kitchen laughing hysterically. For future reference...probably not the best idea, or you'll get a matching tattoo as well.
Hoping for green tomorrow...
Hahaha! Ya'll are too cute. I don't know how his teacher puts him on red. He's tooooooo cute for that!! If he were in my class, I certainly don't see how I could!! :)
ReplyDeleteDustin, when you laugh, you need to excuse yourself to the garage so your wife does not hear you. Ha!
ReplyDeleteSo we have a son with receptive language issues, which is similar to the ELL child you are working with. His teache4r made him a picture sotry about his expectations at school and how he could earn a green card. She also had a picture story about what got him a red card. We started going through this a night as part of the bed time routine and now he really gets it.
ReplyDeleteFunny story! But know that I feel your pain... we've been there too - we went through hexx for almost the entire Kindergarten school year with those color charts. Reds are the worst. We also went through the 'Hmmm, wonder what it's like to go to the Principal's office' stage... Thankfully we're doing much better this year -- haven't been to the tattoo parlor yet. :)
ReplyDeleteAhh, Sorry Cortney. It's rough being a parent. It's extra tough when you didn't get to raise that child from birth. We know the struggles that go along with that as well. We'll hope for green tomorrow too :-)
ReplyDeleteI have to say this made me laugh a little because I so hear myself doing those informative rants when I know he just hears the charlie brown teacher going wah,wah,wah,wah! so sorry Cortney. You will have to come to one of our "adopted an older child as your first child" round tables at Kazapalooza! so fun to tell the stories and everyone is nodding their heads. I will suggest that you not wait almost 4 years like I did and read "the connected child" if you havent already. The auther is over at TCU...go horned frogs! ;) And, Anita, above would be a great resource as well, I have had the pleasure of meeting both of your boys in real life and they have lots in common....cuteness and charm to the extreme....and they enjoy lighting up the color chart. Hang in there girl.
ReplyDeleteI wish there was a better way to teach Ry about "playing school" than going to red. It seems so discouraging. I am sure the teacher has his/her reasons but it must be very hard for an ELL learner to understand all of the nuances of the classroom. I must admit that I can understand why Ry laughed. As a teacher, I have had to stop and laugh at myself when I realize that what I said to a student was a bit over the top. I suspect that Ryland will learn to be a wonderful student with time. I hope he never looses his charm and ability to laugh.
ReplyDeleteRyland, know that the classroom and teachers need you. You teach us how to look at the set way of the classroom and make us change to be better.